Evolution
by Night's Angel31
Summary: Anastasia's school in Australia is no longer safe. So now there school has been relocated temporarily - to Montana. However, now a lifetime secret is unraveling and weird things are happening. Why has Ana's father ban her from seeing her mother? OC
1. Arrival

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy**

Chapter One - Arrival

The bus came to stop and the door slid open. Anastasia retrieved her backpack from under her seat and slung it over her shoulder.

Marco glanced out the window and smiled grimly. "Cheerful place," he commented sarcastically on the dreary buildings outside.

Anastasia smirked, shook her head and walked off the bus. She glanced up at the night sky and sighed. The whole 27-hour flight she hadn't seen a hint of sunlight and probably wouldn't get the chance for a while.

"Kill me now." Zhanna appeared beside her, staring up at gothic style building. There was a slight hint of her slowly fading Russian accent as she spoke. She had left Russia eight years ago and had only returned to visit her parents, but she hadn't seemed to lose her accent, despite the many years of being surrounded by the Australian accent. Anastasia herself was born in Russia, but had been sent to Paige Isabella Henson's Academy of Specialised Arts at the age of four and hadn't returned since.

Zhanna and Anastasia shared some of the same physical characteristics that they inherited from their father, but obviously didn't share the same mother. Zhanna was a Moroi. Anastasia was an illegitimate dhampir, with an Australian mother. They both had deep blue eyes and pinkish lips. Though Anastasia had a nice reddish tinge to her brown hair and, at times, it was had to tell if it was red or brown. Zhanna had hair as black as ash and made her skin look even paler than it really was.

"It's probably not as bad as it looks," Anastasia said just as black crow landed on the roof and cawed, "...maybe not."

The sisters shivered simultaneously, "Creepy."

"Ancel! Stop it!" Antoinette yelled loudly with her French accent. The pair turned around and found Antoinette standing near the pile of baggage that had been unloaded from the bus. She was angry and all that anger was directed at Ancel who was holding her baggage hostage.

Ancel Brauer was trouble. Always had been and always would be. It wasn't that he was bad news; he was just a boisterous dhampir and was _always_ full of energy. He was from Germany and had transferred to Paige Isabella Henson's Academy of Specialised Arts three years ago. To Antoinette's despair, he hadn't left.

Antoinette spotted Anastasia watching and glared at her. "Anastasie! Do something!"

"Ancel, down boy," Anastasia grinned.

"Anast-" she began to shout, but was cut off when Ancel grabbed her from behind and picked her up. Her light blue eyes went wide and her light blonde curls bounced around her shoulders and she struggled to escape his arms.

"Mr. Brauer!" Mr.. Beckford boomed as soon as his heel touched the ground as he stood off the bus. "Put Miss Girard down!"

Ancel immediately released Antoinette and she hurried to straighten her plaited skirt. Antoinette was a Moroi Royal, one of the few that attended Paige Isabella Henson's Academy of Specialised Arts. Her pampered life made her temperamental at times and gave her the illusion that she was the centre of the universe, which she wasn't.

She flicked her curls over her shoulders and wrapped her leather jacket closer around her.

The other students gathered around the baggage pile, collecting their luggage and waiting for the teachers' instructions.

Three other buses lined up behind their bus, unloading more students. Daniel, a dhampir, stepped off the bus and, without hesitation, he turned back around to scramble back onto the bus. "Take me home!" he yelled desperately, but a Guardian pushed him back off.

Marco finally exited the bus, searched around and spotted Anastasia and Zhanna.

Marco had pale green eyes and looks that could kill. Both his parents were Italian, but they had sent him to Australia for schooling because they thought it would be a safer place than Europe. They were wrong. The only reason they were in Montana was _because_ it was no longer safe. Anastasia and Marco had known each other since they were four years old and had been best friends since their first night on campus and had gotten lost and ended up locked out of their dorms. They had snuggled up together outside during the night to keep warm. Though they tended to have a lot of fights that lasted weeks and sometimes got a little violent.

"This is going to be hell. Look at the place. It looks haunted..." he complained.

"Welcome." A deep Russian male voice spoke from behind them. They spun around and came to face a tall man. "I am Guardian Belikov. If the Novices will follow me, I'll show you to your dorms."

"Novices?" they asked each other. "Oh... the dhampir."

"See ya," Marco and Anastasia high-fived.

"Come on, Kautsky," Ancel said as he grabbed his luggage and gave Anastasia a playful shove.

"This is your room," the Matron told Anastasia, "You'll be sharing with Rosemarie Hathaway." She opened the door then moved on to show the other students to their rooms.

Anastasia peered in and found a girl about a year older then herself lounging on her bed, doing homework. She looked up and smiled. Anastasia dragged her luggage in and dumped in on the ground.

"Hi, I'm Rose and you are....?"

"Anastasia."

"So you're from Australia? You have the accent."

"Yeah, but I was born in Russia... My Mum's Australian but she's in Russia." Anastasia flopped down on the spare bed and sighed.

"My Mum's in Nepal." There was an odd silence between the girls for a few minutes until Anastasia spoke to break the tension.

"So when's dinner?"

"About an hour."

"Great," she groaned.

"Kautsky, let me in," Ancel knocked on the bedroom door.

"Friend of yours?" Rose asked.

Anastasia closed the drawer she was putting her clothes in and opened the door. "What do you want?"

"I need to you hide me," he pushed his way into the room and shut the door.

"Why?"

"I need an alibi."

"Why?"

"Someone stuck a stinkbomb in Enrique Stevenson's bag."

"And you had nothing to do with it? You were just an innocent bystander?" Anastasia asked, already knowing that there was no way in hell that he could ever be _innocent_.

"Exactly."

"_Right_," she rolled her eyes.

Ancel spotted Rose and a cocky grin crossed his face.

"Ancel, _no_," Anastasia said sternly. "Don't even think about hitting on my roommate. We've barely been here an hour."  
Ancel ignored her and sat down on Rose's bed. "You're _hot_!"

"And you're not." Rose pushed Ancel off the bed and onto the floor with her foot.

"Aww... that's not nice."

"Ancel, out!" Anastasia yelled.

"Shh... You'll blow my cover," he whispered and dragged Anastasia onto the floor with him.

"You are so immature," she mumbled as she tried to remove his hands from inappropriate places. "Rose a little help."

Rose glanced at her watch, "Sorry, can't. Dinner." She walked around the pair and out the door.

"I swear, if you don't stop touching me I'll break your fingers."

His only reaction was to grin and continue to explore further with his hands.

Anastasia eventually managed to escape his grasp and ran out the door. He quickly followed and soon fell in step beside her. Anastasia glanced at him. He was grinning and for some odd reason, she smiled.

"Come on, don't you remember the good days when-"

"I don't _want_ to remember."

He raised an eyebrow, sceptically, "Whatever you say....Oh no." He spotted Enrique and his pose further up the corridor coming towards them. They hadn't seen him yet.

He grabbed Anastasia's arm and pushed her against the wall, pinning her.

"What are you-"

He silenced her as he forced his mouth onto hers and started to kiss her. He managed to keep her pinned up against the wall and his face hidden until Enrique had passed, then released her.

"You disgust me," she frowned, but the illusion was destroyed when she ended up smiling.

"You enjoyed it."


	2. Fights and Punishments

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academmy Chapter Two – Fights and Punishments

Anastasia and Ancel arrived late at the dining hall and received a few curious looks from their friends. Rose was at the end of the cafeteria line smiling at them.

"Have a nice time?" she asked when they joined the line.

Anastasia glared at her, "You weren't much help."

"You looked like you were having fun."

They slowly filled their plates with food. As Anastasia and Ancel went to join Antoinette, Marco and Zhanna, Rose stopped her.

"Where are you sitting?"

"With them," she nodded over at her friends.

"I'll join you. I'll just go get Lissa."

Anastasia sat down next to Marco. He smirked at her.

"Your lip gloss is smudged. What have _you_ been up to?"

"Keep him away from me."

"Why? You seem to have a nice time with him."

"I _will_ hurt you."

Rose joined them with Lissa.

"Anastasia, this is Lissa. Lissa this is Anastasia and that's Ancel," Rose introduced, "I don't know who the rest are."

"Oh yeah," Anastasia said and began to introduce her friends, "This is Marco he's originally from Italy, that's Zhanna she's my half sister, we have the same Moroi father. And Miss Posh and Pampered over there is Antoinette, she's a Royal, the Girard Family."

"So you're from France? I've always wanted to visit France," Lissa said fascinated.

"It's nice. I haven't been home in a while. I hope to return this Christmas."

"You're a Royal, aren't you?" Zhanna asked Lissa.

"Umm... yeah."

"We've heard about you. You ran away two years ago didn't you?"

"Yeah," Rose answered, "How did you know?"

"News travels. You're legends! My Dad would _kill_ me if I ran away. What did your parents do?"

An awkward silence came over the table. Zhanna had no idea what she had said wrong. Everyone else knew.

"What?" she asked.

"Umm.... Zhanna," Anastasia started, "They're dead."

Zhanna's eyes went wide with comprehension. "Oh."

"Smart one, dumb one," Antoinette mumbled.

"You want to start with me?" Zhanna glared at her.

"I-" she started, but Anastasia interrupted.

"Guys you remember what happened last time you had a fight. Don't start one, especially now."

"Yeah, you wouldn't want to fight, would you France?" Zhanna taunted.

"That's it!" Antoinette stood up abruptly and her chair fell backwards.

"You _want _to fight? That's a change in attitude."

Antoinette launched herself at Zhanna, knocking her backwards off the seat and Antoinette followed. Antoinette landed the first punch to Zhanna's stomach and Zhanna responded in kind.

The others stayed out of the fight until things got a little too violent. Antoinette, as her element was water, began filling Zhanna's lungs with water. Zhanna, her element being air, was not going to take it and began restricting the air in Antoinette's lungs.

Anastasia launched into action and ripped Zhanna off Antoinette, while Ancel helped by grabbed Antoinette. Both struggled to restrain the girls.

"What is going on?!" Guardian Heaton yelled. It was only then that they noticed how close he was and that everyone in the entire hall was watching them.

Anastasia and Ancel released Antoinette and Zhanna.

"Zhanna, Antoinette, I've talked to you about fighting, especially in such a violent manner. If this happens again, I'll have to contact your parents and inform them of your deplorable behaviour."

Zhanna looked away when Guardian Heaton mentioned telling her father. That was the last thing she wanted.

"…If Mr.. Reynolds found you in such a manner-"

"If I find who doing what?" Mr.. Reynolds, a Moroi teacher from Paige Isabella Henson's Academy of Specialised Arts, interrupted.

Guardian Heaton blanched, "This is an issue I am dealing with, Mr.. Reynolds. Your help is not needed."

Mr.. Reynolds ignored him. "Have you two been fighting again?"

Instead of directing the question at Zhanna and Antoinette, he frowned at Anastasia and Ancel.

"Mr.. Reynolds, Anastasia and Ancel have never been caught fighting outside of training."

"Oh, they're dhampirs. Dhampirs are always fighting."

Guardian Heaton didn't bother to correct him.

"Well," Mr.. Reynolds continued, "the pair of you just earned yourselves 5 hours of laps of the oval."

"But Mr..-" Ancel and Anastasia argued.

"Enough!" Mr.. Reynolds shouted, "Do not argue with me."

"That is not necessary," Guardian Heaton said, "I am dealing with this and I will hand out the punishment."

"Are you questioning me, Guardian Heaton, in front of our students?"

Guardian Heaton bit his lip to prevent his from answering with a snide remark.

"No, Mr.. Reynolds," he muttered before striding out of the room.

"You two! Oval, now!"

Anastasia and Ancel glared at him as they exited the hall, but put up no protest. Their friends tried to defend them, but Mr.. Reynolds silenced them with the threat of detention. When he was satisfied with the silence, he followed after the dhampirs.

"I'm going to kill Zhanna, then I'm going to kill Antoinette and then I'm going to kill Reynolds," Anastasia declared.

"Yeah, like I haven't heard that before," Ancel replied.

"Like you haven't thought it before."

"I don't see you running!" Mr.. Reynolds yelled from behind them.

Anastasia sighed, frustrated before breaking into a run followed by Ancel. At first they tried getting away with a slow run, but Mr. Reynolds threaten to lengthen their running time to seven hours, they picked up the pace.

By the end of three hours, the pair of them could barely walk let alone run.

"Did I say you could stop?" Mr. Reynolds asked when Anastasia stopped and fell to her knees, trying to catch her breath.

"No, sir," Anastasia managed between gulps of air.

"Then get up!" He grabbed her by the back of her collar and dragged her to her feet. "How do you expect be able to protect your Moroi when you can't run a measly five hours?"

"Sir, the staff of both schools are meeting now," Guardian Heaton said as he approached. Mr. Reynolds frowned as he cast his eyes over Anastasia and Ancel. "I'll see to it that the two fulfill their punishment tomorrow." Reynolds was in no way convinced but he could not refuse a meeting with the staff in front of students and he turned without a word. Guardian Heaton cast the two dhampirs apologetic glances and Anastasia mouthed him a thank you as Ancel helped her to her feet.

"You two should return to your rooms immediately," he suggested then turned and left.


	3. Phone Calls From Russia

**Chapter Three**

Anastasia met her friends at their new lunch table the next day. Zhanna smiled at her half sister when she spotted her.

"Did you have fun with Reynolds yesterday?"

Anastasia smiled back, "Mention his name again and I'll rip out your tongue."

"Are you alright?" Marco asked concerned.

"No, I think I screwed up my ankle. It hurts like hell."

"I'll make it feel better," Ancel grinned and grabbed Anastasia's foot. She kicked him away with her other foot.

A few minutes later, Daniel pushed himself in between Zhanna and Ancel and made himself comfortable. "You won't believe what I just heard," he announced as he picked off Zhanna's tray of food.

"Do you mind?" she asked, but he continued as though she hadn't spoken.

"Guardian Heaton and Mr. Reynolds exchanged pleasantries outside the teachers lounge this morning, and when I mean pleasantries I mean unpleasantries."

"How unpleasant are we talking?" Marco asked.

"Well, Reynolds ended up in the infirmary with a broken nose, He was asking for it if you ask me." Daniel took a swig from Zhanna's water bottle and picked some more food off her tray. Zhanna glared at him.

Rose and Lissa had joined the tabled and where now staring wide-eyed at Daniel. "Are you serious? A Guardian hit a Moroi?" Lissa asked.

Daniel shrugged. "Well, I wouldn't exactly call him a Moroi, he's more of a sub-species. Besides, its not that unusual, Guardian McGrath hospitalised Mr. Scott last year... oh and last month. Those two never really did get along."

"And they just get away with it?" Rose asked, disbelievingly.

"Well, if you ask me-"

"Nobody asked you," Zhanna said.

"…they all ask for it. I mean what he did last night was cruel and uncalled for. He just has it in for all dhampirs"

A Guardian appeared behind Daniel and looked down on him disapprovingly. "Daniel Karmichael," he said, "you wouldn't be gossiping would you?"

"No, sir," Daniel answered, "just spreadin' the truth."

"Yeah, well, spread some other truth somewhere else," he ordered.

"What, sir?"

"You heard me. Move along." He grabbed Daniel's shirt and steered him in a different direction.

"How on earth do they get away with it?" Rose asked, still trying to understand the situation.

"What? The Guardians? Easy. It's what we call a provoked attack. Some people just have to be reminded that – at war – everyone is equal and everyone has to fight." Ancel answered seriously. The most serious anyone had seen him in a while.

"War?" Lissa asked, worried.

Anastasia eyed Lissa and Rose carefully. "You haven't heard about what's happening in Australia, have you?"

The two girls shook their heads tentatively.

"BAM!" Enrique slammed his fists down on our table as he passed and laughed as most of us jumped.

"Is that the most intelligent thing you have to say?" Zhanna spat as Enrique walked away.

"Zhanna, what have I told you about talking to monkeys?" added Ancel.

Enrique stopped suddenly and spun around, glaring at Ancel.

"What did you say, Brauer?" he spat.

"You heard me, Asshole."

Enrique back-tracked to Ancel and towered over him.

"Did you have something to say, Moroi wannabe?" asked Ancel.

Those final words pushed Enrique over the edge. It all happened so fast, neither Anastasia nor Ancel saw it coming.

Enrique picked up Ancel his collar and threw him across the room and, for the second time in two days, the entire hall paused as another fight broke out.

Anastasia watched as Enrique started beating Ancel to a bloody pulp.

"Shouldn't you do something?" Lissa asked her.

"Give him a few minutes. His situations not likely to improve, but it's fun to watch."

She watched for a few more seconds before sighing and dragging herself off her chair.

"Hey, Stevenson," Anastasia yelled at Enrique. He looked up and Anastasia's fist connected with his face.

Enrique fell back, stunned and Anastaisa quickly pulled Ancel from under him.

"Stay out of this, Ana!" Enrique snapped.

"Don't call me Ana! And no! He may be a pain in the ass, but he's my friend and I'm not going to watch you beat the hell out of him."

"You could do so much better," he growled.

She glared at him. "With who? You? Ha!"

His eyes filled with rage and his slapped Anastasia so hard and fast that nobody saw it only heard the loud crack.

"You're nothing but a whore!" he yelled.

Marco didn't hesitate. He leapt to his feet and attacked Enrique without mercy.

"Take it back," he grunted as he pummeled Enrique, "Take it back."

Blood poured from Enrique's nose, but he remained silent.

"Marco! Marco! Settle down!" Marco couldn't decipher who was yelling, but he didn't care. He was going to beat Enrique until he showed some remorse for what he had done.

Marco barely registered being dragged off Enrique. Two large hands held his shoulders firmly in place… away from Enrique.

"What is going on here?" the soft voice of Guardian Heaton broke through Marco's haze.

He ripped his arms from the person's grip. "Nothing," he grunted.

Guardian Heaton glanced at Enrique's bloody nose and frowned at Marco. "It doesn't look like nothing to me, Mr. Mancini."

Anastasia stepped forward between Guardian Heaton and Marco. "It was just a simple disagreement, sir. Enrique thought I was a whore and Marco disagreed."

Guardian Heaton gave Enrique a stern look before grabbed him by the ear and leading him out of the hall. Daniel appeared out of nowhere and stared, shell shocked, at Marco.

He took a huge gulp of air before yelling, "Oh my God! Enrique got his ass kicked by a Moroi! I've got to spread the news." And he ran out of the hall.

"Are you okay?" Anastasia asked Marco.

"Is he okay?!" Ancel whined, "I'm the one who Enrique used as a punching bag!"

Anastasia turned back to him. "Are you okay?" she placated him.

"No, I'm not okay. Enrique just played congas on/with my kidneys and I think he broke a rib."

Anastasia sighed. "Must I remind you who started it?"

"Technically, he started when he BAMmed on the table," Ancel poked his tongue out childishly and groaned as he climbed to his feet. "I'm going to the infirmary," he mumbled, sulkily, before wondering off.

When Anastasia turned back to Marco, he was gone. Zhanna and Antoinette appeared beside her.

"Are _you_ okay? Never mind them," Zhanna asked, "What Enrique said was harsh. He's just jealous."

"Yeah, of course," Anastasia mumbled as they left the hall.

Anastasia lay across her bed, waiting for the moon to make its way so it hung low in the sky. Rose walked into their room. She was shocked to find Anastasia alone in their room.  
"Where have you been? You disappeared after that episode in the hall." Rose asked as she dumped her bag on her bed.

Anastasia shrugged her shoulders. "My friends and I skipped class."

Rose was silent for a moment. Debating with herself if she would say it or not. She didn't want to sound like a mother. "That's pretty serious stuff. Why?"

Anastasia sighed and sat up. She really didn't wan to have this conversation with Rose. "'Cause we felt like it. Class is boring"

"Are you okay?" Rose asked cautiously.

"Why does everybody keep asking that?!" she yelled. "If I'm fine, I'm fine. If I'm not, then what are you going to do about it?!"

"_Okay_, sorry I asked."

Before Anastasia could stop herself, her arm shot out and knocked everything off with her arm with one swift movement. Items, including her alarm clock and a photo frame, in one swift movement. She glared at the table, forming tight, angry fists with her hands.

Rose stared at her shocked, as Anastasia panted heavily.

"You're not okay," Rose murmured. She placed a gentle hand on Anastasia's shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Anastasia snapped out of her trance and vigorously shook her head.

Rose didn't push the matter. She bent down and help Anastasia pick up her things she had knock off her bedside table. She picked up the cracked photo frame and studied it.

Behind the fractured glass lay a phoenix-haired woman smiling back at her. She was dressed a diamond white dress with a black floral pattern sewn into it. Her grey eyes stared out of the photo into nothing.

"Who's this?" she asked.

Anastasia looked up from the pile of miscellaneous items she was collecting. When she saw what Rose was holding, sadness spread across her features.

"My mother."

"Oh, she's pretty," Rose said quietly.

Anastasia gabbed the photo frame and placed it back on the bedside table. "Yeah, I guess. Although, I doubt she looks like that today."

Rose knew she shouldn't ask, but she couldn't help herself. "Why?"

"This photo's older than I am. I don't think she was even pregnant with me when it was taken, but it's the only picture I have."

"When was the last time you saw her?"

Anastasia sat down on her bed and brought her knees to her chin. "When I was four I was sent to Australia to Paige Isabella Henson's Academy of Specialised Arts. I suppose was sent to Australia because my mother grew up there. When she met my father, she went back to Russia with him. She's still there. I haven't seen her since I left for Australia. We keep in touch, though."

The phone in their room rang.

"That would be her now."

Anastasia stood up and walked to the phone next to the door. "Hello," she said as she placed the phone to her ear. "Hi, Mum."

Rose felt awkward and excused herself, claiming she needed to go see someone. Anastasia was glad Rose was gone; she didn't really want her listening to her conversation.

"_How are you, baby?"_ her mother croaked over the phone.

"Are you okay, Mum?"

"_I'm good. I've just got a cold, that's all."_

"Oh. I hope you get better soon."

"_I hope so, too. So, how's the new school?"_

"It's okay. It's colder here, then in Australia."

"_How are you're classes? You haven't been getting in anymore fights, are you?"_

"Classes are fine. Though I skipped this afternoon's lessons. And I'm haven't gotten into any fights on purpose."

"_Oh, darling, I know you don't like class, but you need to go to them… to keep your father happy."_

Anastasia was silent for a moment, fighting with herself about saying what she really wanted to say. She knew how much it upset her mother when she told her what she really thought of her father. However, she couldn't control herself.  
"Why should I care if he's happy or not?" There was a bit to each word as they left her mouth and, worst of all, she couldn't stop herself.

Her mother sighed. _"Ana."_

"I don't see why you want to keep him happy so much."

"_Ana, I love you and I know you find our arrangement upsetting and I see that you blame your father, but he does all of this only for your wellbeing,"_ she paused, _"I know you hate him, but I love him very much and I would really appreciate it if you at least try and placate him. Okay?"_

Anastasia exhaled, frustrated. "Okay."

"_Thank you, sweetheart." _ There was a commotion in the background at the other end of the phone line. Her mother whispered to someone else off the phone, then spoke back into the phone. _"I've got to go, Ana. I'll call you tomorrow after your classes. I promise. Bye, I love you."_

"Bye, love you t-" Anastasia was cut off as the line went dead.

Anastasia felt slightly rejected as she placed the phone back down, but she chastised herself. It wasn't her mother's fault…. It was her father's.


	4. Love?

**Chapter Four**

A knock at the door distracted Anastasia from her ministration.

"Coming," she called and abandoned her current hairstyle, letting her hair fall down her onto her shoulders. She opened the door and found Zhanna waiting impatiently.

Zhanna smiled widely at Anastasia. "You're wearing the dress I got you!" she stated excitedly.

"Anastasia sighed, "Yes, I did. You're going to have to wait. I still have to do my hair.""

Zhanna waved her hands dismissively. "It's fine. Here," she ran her fingers through Anastasia's hair and fluffed it, "There. Now come on."

She dragged Anastasia out of her room and outside into the cold early morning. The sun was hours away from rising and the early morning air made Anastasia shiver. The thumping music erupted from one of the dorms could be heard clearly.

Daniel spotted them as soon as they entered the dorm and raced over to meet them. "Hey, Zhanna," he greeted in his best 'cool' voice.

Zhanna rolled her eyes and pushed him aside, "Move over, loser. You're in my way."

Daniel wasn't deterred. He followed her like a lost puppy as she made her way to find someone.

Anastasia went her own way. She met Ancel halfway up the stairs with a drunken female dhampir under his arm. "Hey, Annnna," he slurred as he stumbled a few steps. "Watcha doin' all alone?"

"Where's Marco?"

Ancel shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. Haven't seen 'im." With his final words, Ancel departed stumbling some stairs and falling down the rest.

Anastasia continued p the stairs. She hoped Marco was there. She didn't want to spend the rest of the night alone. She could hang out with Antoinette, but she hung with the Moroi Royals at these parties. The last thing she wanted was to associate herself with _them_.

As she reached the top of the stairs someone with pale skin and brunette hair bumped into her. "Marco?" she asked.

The boy turned around to face her. "Polo," he giggled drunkenly. As soon as she had seen his face she knew it definitely wasn't Marco. She rolled her eyes in disgust and pushed the drunk Moroi away.

Suddenly, someone grabbed her arm and started dragging her towards the balcony at the end of the hallway. She looked up and found it to be Enrique. His normally shaggy hair was sleeked back with gel and his face appeared freshly shaven. "Enrique, what are you doing?"

They reached the balcony, which was vacant, and Enrique quickly shut the door behind them.

"Enrique?" asked again, this time cautiously. Whatever Enrique was planning could not be good.

His head snapped up and their eyes met. "I wanted to talk to you," he said.

Anastasia glanced anxiously towards the door then walked over to lean against the railing next to Enrique.

"What is it?" she questioned, uneasily.

He shifted nervously on his feet. "I've been think…"

_Oh here we go,_ thought Anastasia.

"… What are you planning to do when you finish school?"

"What all dhampir are planning to do – become a Guardian."

"Well, you see, I know someone… they're looking for a Guardian. They're in Russia… near your mother. I though you would…"

"Why are you being all nice about this?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, confused.

"Why do you care where I go when I finish school?"

He suddenly became very shy. His cheeks turned a deep crimson and he quickly dropped his head to hide it. "B-Because… because I…." He said the last few words so low and quickly she couldn't hear him.

"Because you what?" Anastasia whispered, trying not to embarrass Enrique further. Despite how much of a dick he was most of the time, she wasn't as cruel as him and didn't want to humiliate him.

"Because I like you," he mumbled as his eyes snapped to hers.

Anastasia stared back at him, shocked. She couldn't believe what he had just said. He had always been such a jerk to her and her friends. She supposed the saying was true – boys who pulled your hair really did like you.

Enrique took her stillness as a good sign and thought it was the best time to make his move. He learned in slowly towards her and gently pushed his lips to hers. She was too dumb-struck to react at first, but as Enrique forced her lips apart, Anastasia knew she'd have to either encourage the kiss or end it. His hand trailed up her arms to delicately cradle her head.

Before Anastasia could decide, she felt herself reacting to his kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and ran her fingers though his hair. He took this as encouragement and kissed her even more deeply.

Anastasia lost track of time. It felt like an eternity until the balcony door opened and there was a gasp. Anastasia quickly broke away from the kiss and spun around to face Marco, who stared back at her. His eyes flickered to Enrique, then returned to Anastasia.

"I-I've gotta go," he stuttered and walked quickly back inside.

"Marco, wait!" Anastasia called and went to run after him. Enrique caught her hand to stop her. "Let me go," she demanded and tried to twist out of Enrique's grasp.

"Let him go, Ana. He'll be fine, he's just in shock. Give him time to think about it," Enrique said calmingly and drew her into a hug. Anastasia let herself be pulled towards him and be engulfed by his warmth.

As he stroked her hair, all Anastasia could see was the broken look upon Marco's face - the look of despair and disappointment that tugged at her conscience. Silent tears slid down her face as she tried greatly not to cry.

Why was she so upset that Marco had seen her kissing another boy? Why did it matter? They were only friends. Or were they?

The next day, Anastasia could feel the eyes of her friends following her as she entered the mess hall for breakfast the next morning. Everyone - except Marco. He stared intently at his slight tray of food in front of him. As soon as Anastasia had taken her seat, everybody returned their attention to their food. They were all quiet except for Zhanna, who immediately grabbed Anastasia by the arm and dragged her away from the table .

"We need to talk," she muttered.

Zhanna's grip didn't let up until both moroi and dhampir where outside the mess hall's door and, therefore, out of their friends range of hearing. When Zhanna was happy with their location she shoved Anastasia away and into a nearby tree.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Zhanna snapped as Anastasia hit the tree with a thump.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Anastasia replied with just as much emotion.

"I heard about last night," she answered with a glare, "How could you do that to Marco?"

The attitude in which Zhanna shouted her words carried the underlying suggestion that what had happened the previous night was all her fault. The tone immediately put Anastasia on the defensive.

"What do you mean, 'how could I do that to Marco'? I'm not his girlfriend and he's not my boyfriend. What could I have possibly done to Marco? We're friends, that's all."

Zhanna rolled her eyes and pinned Anastasia against the tree in frustration. Anastasia could have easily torn Zhanna's hands from her shoulders but had learned from the past that when things got physical between them in a verbal conflict Zhanna ended up hurt. So Anastasia didn't fight Zhanna's brutish hostility.

"Are you blind? Did you not see him this morning?"

"I saw him," Anastasia retorted, "But do you honestly thinks I planned this? And besides I don't see why he's so upset."

"He saw you making out with the Jerk King! What do you think he's upset about?!" Zhanna barked. "Shit, Anastaisa, you can be really thick sometimes!"

"For your information, he was really sweet last night – not like he usually is… and… I think he likes me. He was really nice to me last night."

Zhanna sighed pityingly, "Anastasia, this has happened before. You know it. Don't go down that path again."

"It's different this time."

"No, its not. It's exactly like the other half a dosen times, only this time Marco's seen you whoring around. And he wasn't bothered when you and Ancel had that 'accident' because he knew neither of you had any feelings for each other. And the other boys – the ones you thought were 'the one' – were different, they weren't the biggest jerk in the school. He's sat by and watched you with other boys, but he was secure because he knew – we all knew- that it would end and you would go crying back to him. But now… now you would rather be with the worst guy in school than with him," Zhanna finished softly and as she gazed at the tree above Anastasia's head.

"It's not like that," Anastasia vehemently shook her head.

Zhanna's eyes instantly reverted back to Anastasia's face. "No? But that's what it's like to him."

Zhanna sighed heavily and released Anastasia. "Don't talk to him again. This is the only way to fix this. Forget about Enrique and break it off. Marco will forgive you."

"No!" Anastasia exclaimed.

Zhanna stared at her shocked. "You would rather ruin your friendship with Marco, your best friend, then leave this boyfriend who –not even 24 hours ago – called you a whore school in front of everyone?"

Anastasia didn't answer. She simply stared at the grassed ground in front of her.

"Fine, if that's how you want it," Zhanna said disappointingly then began to walk away. "I don't think you should rejoin us at breakfast," she added over her shoulder.

"Fine," Anastasia muttered, "I wasn't hungry anyway."

Enrique found her sitting alone under a tree during lunch. She looked so lonely and dejected staring at the clouds in the sky in solitude as they passed over her. He approached her quietly, only the crushing of the grass under his shoes were the only sounds in the area as most the children ate lunch in the mess hall.

He reached her and leaned over so he obstructed her view. Her face brightened immediately and he felt overwhelmingly important to her. She excitedly patted the ground beside her.

"Where are your friends?" he asked.

At the mention of her friends her face darkened. She looked away and gazed at the blade of grass in her hand. "Oh, they were… we are not really talking at the moment."

"Was it because of last night?" he asked cautiously.

She simply nodded her had, still not meeting his eye.

He reached over and placed his hand over the blade of grass… and her hand. She reluctantly looked at him. He stared back her.

"I'm sorry," he said and leant closer, "I won't be like them, I won't let you sit alone."

She smiled at him sadly, "Thank you, but I feel like I've done the wrong thing. I feel so bad at what I did to my friends."

A tear escaped her eye and slowly rolled down her cheek.

Enrique wiped it away with his thumb, "Shh, you did nothing wrong."

"Maybe I should go apologise to them," she cried softly as she started to move away.

"No, no, no," he said softly to her. He gently wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her close.

"You don't have anything to apologize to them for, " he whispered in her ear, "Stay here with me, okay? You don't need them, if they won't accept who you like then they're not very good friends, are they? No. No, they're not."

He kissed away the tears on her cheek then kissed the rest of her face, finishing on her lips. As soon his lips touched hers, her arms wrapped around Enrique's neck like a vice. She was not going to let go of him anytime soon. He was like a security blanket. He would hurt her. He would never hurt her.

They fell back onto grass together, lips locked. When she finally came up for air, Enrique stared down at her tear-streaked face.

"Don't worry, Ana. All you need is me."


End file.
